Bookends Halloween Edition
by Ms Bat
Summary: Mai is roped in to help out at a certain library with very familiar faces. NaruXMai
1. Chapter 1

~ Bookends ~

_Halloween Edition_

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of _Ghost Hunt_

This is dedicated to Emina105 who wanted to see a sequel of sorts to _Bookends_. Hope you enjoy it if you're reading this!

* * *

_1. The Night Before_

"So… do you prefer the mini purple hats or the black spiders?" The girl with the soft brown bob tilted her head to one side as she considered the long chain of shiny ornaments.

"Hmm…" she murmured, evidently undecided. Takigawa Houshou chuckled.

"What?" she asked in a mock-threatening tone. He smirked.

"I can see why good ol' Naru likes you. You look so adorable when you're thinking." Mai threw a packet of orange streamers at him.

"Oi, oi. Be careful! That's my boyfriend up on that ladder," a voice warned from the entrance.

"Ayako!" Mai grinned and waved as the President of the Library Board sauntered in. She surveyed the half-decorated room critically. Most of the senior staff had remained behind after hours to decorate the library in preparation of the seasonal celebrations. As a result, unlike its usual scrupulously tidy appearance, the General Reading Room of the National Library had been turned into an unkempt mess of craft apparatuses, coloured streamers and glitter while a skeleton even graced the main desk.

"How do you like it so far?" the younger girl asked anxiously.

"It's not bad," Ayako said as she draped herself lazily onto a nearby couch.

"I'm _exhausted_," she whined as Takigawa climbed down from his precarious perch.

"I'll get you some tea," he offered. Madoka looked up from consulting a list and smiled empathetically at her.

"Bad day?" she enquired. The red haired woman sighed. "The usual. The board's still quibbling over upgrading the computer system." She tossed her hair over her shoulder casually.

"So, what have I been missing?" she asked as she accepted the steaming cup of tea from Takigawa, who went to sit next to her.

"Hmm, we still have to put up all the ornaments, move some of the tables for the caterers…" John rattled off the list before shrugging helplessly. "Nothing's really done because we've just started."

Ayako looked at her watch and frowned. "The children's festivities start tomorrow! We don't have all night," she nagged.

"Hai, hai. And that's why we, the significant others are here to help out, right?" Takigawa announced with a wink at Mai, who blushed furiously.

"Naru and I aren't exactly dating," she protested. Most of the party present made noises of disbelief.

"Aww, come on… You know how busy both our schedules are, right, Lin-san?" she asked, appealing to the stoic security head. Lin, who was typing away busily at his laptop, paused. Swivelling round on his chair, he looked right at her.

"In that's the case, what would you call the dinner you were both having together at the coffee house opposite last week?"

She scowled around the room as they broke into giggles. "Come on, Mai. There's no need to be shy. What're your plans for Halloween?"

"Uh… helping out here?"

"I meant afterwards, _with Naru_," Madoka said, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "_Nothing_," she retorted airily before stalking over to help John untangle a string of sparkly silver stars.

Two hours later, as they were putting the finishing touches to the room, Naru and Yasuhara both came in, laden down with snacks and various kinds of candy in preparation of the week long festivities.

"We got loads of stuff. Toffee apples, pumpkin candies, licorice sticks, you name it we probably have it," Yasuhara said as he put the cartons down on one of the reading tables.

Meanwhile, Naru had discovered another sort of skeleton, specifically the kind that was occupying his chair. "What. Is. That?" he demanded with a jerk of his chin in the direction of the bony frame which had a placard with the word WORKAHOLIC strung around its neck and a plastic mug in fleshless hand. "

Eheh… It was Mai's idea," Takigawa said nervously. Mai glared at him. _Coward_!

"_I_ didn't add that placard!" she huffed. Naru however only raised an eyebrow at her.

"Where am I supposed to sit tomorrow then?" She wheeled another desk chair over.

"You could share?" she asked in what she hoped was a mollifying tone. An evil look crossed his face and Mai gulped when he leaned over the desk to gaze intently at her eyes.

"Or," he announced loudly, "I could sit on your lap tomorrow when you're giving out the candy."

Flushing beetroot red and speechless, Mai backpedalled into the couch. Naru smirked before disappearing into the safety of his office as Yasuhara, Takigawa and Madoka tittered appreciatively. "Hey Mai, I thought you said you two weren't dating," Takigawa sniggered as he held back the flustered girl.

"We aren't! Naruuuuu! You jerk! Come back down and help! Just because you don't like holidays doesn't mean you can hole yourself up there!" she hollered on having found her voice again. "Oh leave him be," Ayako said. "We're almost done anyway. All that's left are the costumes." She looked pointedly at them. "And, I expect _everyone_ to take part this year."

* * *

Author notes: I've written out the whole thing already and will be posting them once a day or so up till Halloween this weekend. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

~ Bookends ~

_Halloween Edition_

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of _Ghost Hunt_

* * *

_2. The Big Day (I)_

"A mongoose."

Mai stared as the bespectacled librarian flitted around the children's section distributing chocolate pumpkins.

"But _why _a mongoose?"

Madoka nodded approvingly. "Isn't Yasu-chan just _cute_?" she gushed, her purple witch's hat threatening to fall off in the process.

Mai went back to observing the young man, no giant mongoose who waved solemnly at them.

"I suppose so," she said dubiously.

Halloween had dawned bright and clear and although it was not even lunch yet, the library was crowded with people, and especially children eager to indulge in the festivities and free food. A cowboy in sunglasses tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oi, get me a glass of ice coffee won't you?"

When Mai stared blankly back, he sighed deeply.

"Honestly, can't you recognize me?" Takigawa complained as he removed his opaque eyewear.

To his annoyance, Mai broke out laughing hysterically. "

No, it's just that you look so funny!" she giggled.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What about yourself? What're you supposed to be? A World War veteran? What's with that trench coat?"

He prodded the fluffy black things sticking out of her coat pocket suspiciously. Mai stopped laughing.

"Er, yeah… something like that," she said evasively, her face tomato red. Takigawa smirked.

"What're you hiding under that? Are those what I think they are?"

"They are not!" she said furiously.

"A long coat and heels? I hardly call that fashionable," Masako remarked coolly as she sailed in accompanied by Lin who looked dour in a butler's suit with long tails.

"Masako," Mai gritted her teeth into a forced smile. The petite girl inclined her head in acknowledgement.

"Mai." They both glared each other. Masako was the first to turn away. "I am not so immature as to indulge in childish games," she sniffed, a kimono sleeve raised delicately. "If you don't mind, have tea sent up to Ayako's room," she said as she wandered away again.

"Why that little… if she weren't the mayor's daughter…" Mai growled as she stomped off to the pantry.

"I'm a _volunteer_, not her maid. Who does she think she is anyway…" Mai grumbled as she climbed up the carpeted stairs to Ayako's office. Then, she noticed that she had forgotten the milk jug. Resisting the urge to groan, Mai turned back round carefully to go back down only to bump straight into Naru who had been going up as well. As she attempted to steady herself, Naru caught her dangerously wobbling tray.

"I'll take that," he said as he eyed her coat curiously. "Is that your costume?"

Mai blanched. "Umm… well…" she laughed nervously.

Naru raised an eyebrow, intrigued at her sudden onset of blushing.

The tea set clinked as he adjusted the tray single-handedly. They were still standing too close together and Mai eyed the arm that was burshing her coat pocket with discomfort. If he guessed...

"It's not lingerie is it?"

"Of-of-of course not!" she huffed and snatched the tray back. "If you don't mind, I've to get these to Masako and Ayako," she said stiffly before rushing the rest of the way up.

* * *

Author notes: Thanks to Amu Tsukiyomi, show. me. the. stars (sorry for the spaces, but your name wouldn't appear when I lumped them together), Ariana Taniyama, xxxAngelicDreams, Flamegirl5500 for the reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

~ Bookends ~

_Halloween Edition_

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of _Ghost Hunt_

* * *

_2. The Big Day (II)_

Minutes later, Mai was back in the office pantry. She'd forgotten the milk jug after all. As she filled one of the tiny porcelain jugs, Madoka burst in, hat askew.

"Mai! Why are you still here? We need you to hand out the refreshments!" Without even waiting for a reply, she began pulling the younger woman out of the room.

"Madoka-san! I'm supposed to get Ayako her milk jug!" she protested. The librarian waved her free hand impatiently.

"I'll get it for her. Come on!" Struck by a thought, she froze suddenly.

"Oww! Don't just stop like that," Mai grumbled as she rubbed her arm.

"Mai-chan. Why are you still wearing that horrid coat over your costume?" The girl flushed. Madoka tutted.

"Don't tell me you're still _shy_? Didn't we agree that it looks great on you?"

"But…"

"Didn't you say you want to knock the socks off Naru?"

"That is, if he wears them," Mai muttered sourly.

"Of course he does," Madoka replied reasonably. "Come on Mai. You _picked_ the costume yourself remember?"

"You agreed," Mai whined even as she began unbuttoning her jacket. "I am probably going to regret this."

Lin had just shown some of the visitors to the buffet table when he did a double take. There was a girl in a bunny costume weaving her way through the crowd with a tray of glasses. _Mai_?!

"You should pay attention to where you're going," Madoka said smugly when the tall man rammed into a bookshelf painfully.

"Where did she get that from?" he demanded, scandalized. Madoka grinned as she looped her arm around his elbow affectionately and towed him to the buffet table.

"We picked it out last week. Don't you think she looks cute? I bet Naru would be speechless and rooted to the ground."

Lin frowned at the way the men in the room were all more or less taking surreptitious peeks at Mai. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Naru had shown himself to be pretty possessive about his unofficial girlfriend and lascivious gazes would hardly go down well with him.

* * *

_Extra: How Lin and Yasuhara came by their costumes_

The tall man shuddered inwardly.

"I'm the security. No one will take me seriously if you put me in a costume," he protested.

To his distress, Madoka seized him by the arm. "Not to worry! I've a spare from last year!" she announced as Ayako waved aside his objection.

"It's only for a few hours."

"I think we still have the Darth Vader robes from last year," Madoka grinned.

"Naru broke the light saber remember?" Lin said desperately.

"Oh. Well, we'll think of something, I'm sure," Madoka said uncertainly. It was already so late at night...

Yasuhara sidled over, an innocent smile plastered firmly on. "Not to worry Mori-san! There's a cosplay shop two blocks down. I'm sure Lin-san will be delighted to accompany me when I collect mine tomorrow."

* * *

Author notes: Aha! Bet you didn't see the bunny girl costume coming! And poor Lin walking into the door... As for his costume, there're plenty of butler characters out there, though for Lin I did envision Sebastian from _Kuroshitsuji_. As for Yasuhara's mongoose outfit, see my reply below.

_Ariana Taniyama_: Why mongoose indeed? XD I was just struck by how it'll just be like Yasuhara to wear something totally outrageous. Haha. But the idea of a _mongoose_ comes specifically from _Nodame Cantabile_.

Thanks to _Moons-chan_, _xxAngelicDreams_, _Somnium Mos _(no problem! I perfectly understand!), _Flamegirl5500_, _show. me. the. stars_, _Ariana Taniyama_ for the great reviews! I enjoyed reading all of them!


	4. Chapter 4

~ Bookends ~

_Halloween Edition_

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of _Ghost Hunt_

* * *

_3. The Kiss_

When Naru finally made an appearance, he took one look at the happily laughing, chatting, eating crowd and fled back upstairs, scowling as _children_ ran about getting underfoot.

"Naru-chan!"

Madoka was waving at him eagerly as she tried to make her way over two children who were running away from Masako giggling _"jigokou shoujou_!"_._ As it stood, Madoka on a normal day did not bode well, and Madoka on Halloween… He shuddered and quickly pretended not to have seen her. Or Masako, who was trying to catch his eye.

"Naru! Quit pretending not to have seen me! How many times have I told you that it's not good manners avoiding people in a social setting?"

Cornered, he heaved a defeated sigh. "What do you want?"

She clapped her hands in delight. "Come on. There's your favourite mango pudding dessert!"

Naru was about to point out that he in fact did _not_ enjoy pudding of any kind when he spotted Mai. He froze on the spot, the sarcastic retort he had in mind momentarily forgotten.

"That's a cute costume you have there, miss. Did you make it?"

"Oh, I didn't. I'm not that good at this kind of thing…" the brown haired bunny eared girl said with a laugh. _So those were the black fluffy things sticking out of her coat pocket_... The young man grinned and leaned rakishly against the wall.

"Well, you look absolutely adorable in it. If I had known that the library was staffed by such a lovely lady as you, I would've been here everyday." Naru winced. This-this _flirt_ had absolutely no style at all, if his speech, posture, pink and white chequered coat and yellow wig were anything to go by.

Mai, however, looked pleased. "I'm really only a volunteer," she explained. "Would you like to try some of the strawberry pudding? I hear they're really good..." she said as she reached for a plate.

Madoka smirked behind Naru's back. She stepped back smoothly, letting her superior have the field. Mai, whose back they were facing, had not immediately noticed them as they approached, Madoka stealthily, Naru striding forward grimly. The young man had however, and he sweatdropped when Naru stared at him stonily from under his spectacles. Madoka looked at her watch.

"Oh, look at the time! It looks as though I've to start the first round of story telling sessions," she said, giving him an innocent smile.

He glared at her.

"Help yourself, yeah?" With another cheery wave, Madoka disappeared into the crowd.

Without anything else delaying him, he strode up to the couple. "Excuse me," he began in freezing tones. "May I borrow my _girlfriend_ for a second?"

Mai blushed, embarrassed. "Naru! What are you doing?" she hissed.

"John here can assist you if you have any queries," he added as, conveniently, the Australian librarian had walked up.

"What?" John (who was in a pirate costume) looked baffled as Naru pushed two cups of mango pudding at them. "Enjoy the party," he said as he towed the erstwhile girl away.

Outside, Mai drank in the crisp autumn air. "It's nice out here," she said as they sat on a stone bench in the library's open courtyard.

"It's not too cold for you?" Naru asked eyeing her semi-translucent black stockings as he took off his glasses.

She smiled. "Not really. I'm still warm from being inside all morning."

The fountain in the middle of the empty square burbled gently. It was much quieter than it had been inside. Overhead, the afternoon sun filtered warmly through the rust red and yellows leaves of the trees framing the square. Mai leaned comfortably against his shoulder, smiling slightly when he didn't move away.

"So, since when did I become your girlfriend?"

She could feel him smile above her. "Officially speaking, since just now."

Mai pouted. "Huh! To you maybe, but I don't think I've heard you actually ask for my consent."

"Would you like me to now? I should warn you first that I won't take no for an answer," he replied smoothly, turning so that he could face her.

Mai rolled her eyes playfully. "You narcissist," she grinned. "What if I did?"

Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Then I'll have to show you what you'll be missing out if you do," he said as he leaned in and kissed her.

* * *

Author notes: One last chapter, or rather epilogue after this. Thank you _Flamegirl5500_, _AlexaTarot_, _show. me. the. stars_., _krisaku_, _Ariana Taniyama_, _scaryD_, _Somnium_ _Mos_ and _xxAngelicDreams_ for your reviews!

Have a Happy Halloween!

_Ariana Taniyama_: Now you've got me shuddering at the image of Yasuhara in a thong. XD But yeah... roller blades I can totally see.

_Somnium Mos_: Like Haruhi's! Hence the multiple male gazes.

_krisaku_: let's just say they were both in denial up till this chapter. lol


	5. Chapter 5

~ Bookends ~

_Halloween Edition_

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of _Ghost Hunt_

* * *

_Epilogue_

"That's the last of them," Takigawa said with relish as the remaining customers staggered out through the front door, trailing bits of festive paraphernalia behind them. John who was leaning on the other side of the door grinned ruefully.

"I always forget how exhausting celebrations like these can be," he said.

Takigawa snorted. John still looked remarkably fresh in spite of a rather trying afternoon placating all of Mai's disappointed 'suitors' that had been unsubtly intimidated by Naru.

"Hey, if you're done showing them out, we can leave," Ayako said. "Lin, Madoka, Masako and Yasuhara are all waiting in the carpark."

Takigawa grinned as they followed her there. "What about Mai and Naru-bou?"

The red-haired lady frowned. "I haven't seen them. Have any of you?" she asked the small group.

"I believe they have been in Naru's office since we finished cleaning up," Lin said as he flipped out his phone. "Perhaps I ought to give them a call..."

The front door swung open violently.

"Wait!" Mai yelled as she rushed down the steps towards them, bunny ears flopping as she did.

"Where's Naru?" Yasuhara asked as she came running.

"Eh? He was right behind me…"

Her eyes glittered when she spotted his figure hovering in the shadow of the doorway.

"He can't go to a Halloween party without a costume so I…" she broke off with a grin not unlike the sort to be usually found framing Yasuhara's face. "Promise you won't laugh," she smirked as she darted back up the steps. "Come on Naru! You're going to make us late!"

She caught a soft sigh as Naru walked out, reluctance rolling off him ostensibly. He looked exactly the same except that he now sported a pair of bunny ears like Mai.

"The food had better be good," he said and shot down any potential laughter by glaring warningly at the group first.

Takigawa and Mai both let out a nervous guffaw as one of Naru's fluffy ears caught in the door as he got into his car. As he detached it calmly, Naru spoke with a dignified air, "Mai, I ought to inform you that my parents will be at Masako's later and they would be looking forward to meeting you."

"WHAT?!"

As Takigawa, Ayako and Yasuhara questioned the red-faced girl eagerly, Naru smirked.

It was going to be a good night.

* * *

Author notes: Yes. Mai is going to have to meet Naru's parents in a bunny girl suit. XD Ah well. And I'm sorry I hadn't responded to queries as to whether Naru was wearing a costume or his usual stuff but I wanted to keep the epilogue a surprise.

Thank you _Flamegirl5500_, _AlexaTarot_, _miki230_, _show. me. the. stars_., _Ariana Taniyama_, _Somnium_ _Mos,_ _xxAngelicDreams and __miss koneko_ for your reviews!

_miss koneko_: Always knew Madoka was itching to meddle. XD

_Ariana Taniyama_: Well. It _is_ a library after all. Violence not allowed and all that. =p And I think he probably realizes that the fellow chatting Mai up actually hardly poses a threat. He probably just needed some opportunity (bunny girl suit also helps) to work up the courage to declare that he likes her...

_Somnium Mos_: Nope. Unfortunately, Gene does not appear in this story, though it's not too long a shot to assume he'll probably be at the party along with his parents. Oh, and John's not a priest in this fic. *grin* If there's anything remotely holy about him here, it'll be his saint-like propensity for putting up with being saddled with all those disappointed men

_show. me. the. stars._: I tend to do jealous Naru a lot in my fics... it's a terrible habit but I can't seem to kick it. The spectacles are brought over from the original _Bookends _where he wears them normally.


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